CIMB’s Asia Project Faces Challenges: Citigroup

Malaysia’s CIMB Group Holdings Bhd., which went on an acquisition binge last year, is likely to face serious challenges to its ambitions to become Southeast Asia’s top investment bank, according to analysts at Citigroup Inc.

CIMB is best known for acquiring the cash equities, equity capital markets and corporate finance businesses of Royal Bank of Scotland PLC in 2012, enlarging its footprint outside the Asean region into Australia, China and Taiwan. The bank is waiting for brokerage and advisory licenses in South Korea and India, but the rest of the deal is already complete. CIMB paid around 160 million pounds for those businesses.

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Indonesia Real Time provides analysis and insight into the region, which includes Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei. Contact the editors at SEAsia@wsj.com.

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